It was on 18 September 2004 that Britney Spears and Kevin Federline tied the knot. The Mirror brought back the topic into discussion and CIRCUS brings it over to you.

It has been 13 years since Britney Spears and Kevin Federling got married. British tabloid, The Mirror, published an article that brings back to memory the night that “gave us some of the most epic wedding scenes in the history of showbiz”.

From K-Fed ripping off Britney’s garter with his teeth while cheered on by his mum to the stripper pole and those Juicy ‘pimp’ tracksuits, their wedding was a sight to behold.

The couple were booked in to tie the knot at the Bacara resort in Santa Barbara on October 16, but their dreams were crushed when the press got hold of the details – Instead, the guest list was cut from 250 to 27, with only the bride and groom’s families and wedding party invited.

Determined not to let the venue details slip a second time, the nuptials were brought forward to September 18 and Britney’s wedding planner Alyson Fox held the service in her own £2 million Studio City home.

Guests thought they were attending an engagement party, only to be told it was a wedding when they walked through the door.

A card handed to each read:

– Surprise! It is with much love that we welcome you to our wedding ceremony tonight.

Britney spoke with People magazine about the idea:

– I just thought it would be too much if we had done it when we were supposed to. It became this huge thing and I was like: “What are we waiting for? We know this is the real thing, why not just do it now?” That’s why I wanted to sneak and do it our little way.

The Juicy tracksuits

Contrary to popular belief, the bride and groom didn’t tie the knot in trackies. The couple had gowns and tuxedos on standby for the bridal party, who had already been measured up ahead of the October wedding.

Britney walked down the aisle in a $26,000 Monique Lhuillier strapless silk gown and lace gloves while the bridesmaids wore $3,000 red gowns by the same designer.

It was only as they headed out of the wedding for a night clubbing in LA that the bridesmaids and groomsmen slipped into Juicy tracksuits emblazoned with diamantes reading ‘Pimps’ and ‘Maids’. Britney’s read, ‘Mrs Federline’ while Kevin was ‘The Pimp’.

– That’s what Juicy did for every celebrity who got married. They’d send them the cute little tracksuits, said the wedding planner Alyson.

– I asked Britney and Kevin what they wanted printed on the back, and Britney said: “Maids! Maids will be cute!”. He said “Pimps” which was adorable… People are closed-minded. It was a joke, it was for fun. It was Juicy tracksuits! Ten years ago people would have given anything for a Juicy tracksuit, she concluded.

Why do these tears come at night?

The waterworks started with Britney’s little sister Jamie Lynn, then 13, who burst into tears because she thought she was the only one who’d been kept in the dark.

Both Britney and K-Fed let the tears flow freely during the 15-minute ceremony:

– [They] just gazed into each other’s eyes, and he kept touching her face, her longtime assistant and bridesmaid, Felicia Culotta, told People.

– As she was standing there, tears were falling. When her daddy lifted up her veil and kissed her on the cheek and shook hands with Kevin, it was so sweet. That started all the tears.

Proud mother-of-the-bride Lynne was also overwhelmed with emotion:

– I just cried because I think it sort of hit me that she is a woman now. It hurts when they grow up, she said.

But after all that sobbing, the ceremony was rounded off with a rather exuberant snog from the newlyweds:

– I just wanted to holler: “Get a room!”, said Felicia.

The stripper pole

After balling their eyes out during the vows and snogging lustily upon being pronounced husband and wife, Kevin proceeded to pull Britney’s garter off with his teeth – as his mum cheered him on.

And just after midnight the whole crew rocked up to LA nightclub XES, where Britney hit the dancer poles:

– The crowd just started cheering and clapping – it was like a big party, said XES co-owner Kat Johnson.

After storming the floor for a dance battle, Kevin finally carried Britney – who had lost her Prada shoes – over the club’s threshold at 2am.

– Instead of carrying her into the bedroom, I carried her out of the club, he told People.